Key Points
Bullet point summary by AI
- Fan voting for the 2026 MLB All-Star Game in Philadelphia opened this week with phase one closing on June 25.
- Several races feature historic performances and close competition between top players across both leagues.
- The next phase of voting will determine the starters, with a few contests likely to shift dramatically before All-Star weekend.
It seems like Opening Day was just yesterday, but it's already time for fans to begin voting for who they think should represent the AL and NL at the 2026 MLB All-Star Game in Philadelphia next month. Phase one of the fan vote opened on Wednesday; you can fill out your ballot here. Voting for phase one will close on June 25, with the top two vote-getters at each position in each league (and the top six outfielders) advancing to phase two — at which point another round of voting will be held to determine the starters.
Of course, a lot can change over the next few weeks. But we've already seen some historically awesome performances from some of the biggest names in the sport this season. So here's how we'd be voting if we had to fill out a ballot today — along with the races we'll be most closely monitoring from here on out.
American League
Position | Starter |
|---|---|
Catcher | Dillon Dingler, Detroit Tigers |
First base | Ben Rice, New York Yankees |
Second base | Travis Bazzana, Cleveland Guardians |
Third base | Jose Ramirez, Cleveland Guardians |
Shortstop | Bobby Witt Jr., Kansas City Royals |
Outfield | Cody Bellinger, New York Yankees |
Outfield | Mike Trout, Los Angeles Angels |
Outfield | Aaron Judge, New York Yankees |
DH | Yordan Alvarez, Houston Astros |
National League
Position | Starter |
|---|---|
Catcher | Drake Baldwin, Atlanta Braves |
First base | Matt Olson, Atlanta Braves |
Second base | Xavier Edwards, Miami Marlins |
Third base | Max Muncy, Los Angeles Dodgers |
Shortstop | Elly De La Cruz, Cincinnati Reds |
Outfield | Corbin Carroll, Arizona Diamondbacks |
Outfield | Andy Pages, Los Angeles Dodgers |
Outfield | James Wood, Washington Nationals |
DH | Kyle Schwarber, Philadelphia Phillies |
The toughest 2026 MLB All-Star ballot decisions
AL first baseman: Ben Rice vs. Nick Kurtz
With all due respect to Munetaka Murakami, this is a two-man race. And it just so happens to come down to two of the very best and most impactful hitters in the sport so far this year in Rice and Kurtz. But while Kurtz has been spectacular in his sophomore season, shaking off a slow start to post an OBP above .400 while still driving the ball the way he did last year, I don't think everyone realizes just how good Rice has been for the Yankees.
To wit: He has the highest slugging percentage in the league right now — higher than Murakami, higher even than Yordan Alvarez and his teammate Aaron Judge. Everything he gets the barrel on goes for extra bases, and he does all that while hitting above .300 and posting a double-digit walk rate. He came out of nowhere as an unheralded cold-weather prospect who struggled in his first taste of MLB action, but it's time we all recognized Rice for what he is: a bona fide MVP candidate.
AL third baseman: Jose Ramirez vs. Kevin McGonigle
This one's all about trend lines. McGonigle has split his time pretty much evenly between shortstop and third base, and currently leads all qualified players in fWAR at the hot corner. You can't say enough about how well he's adapted to big-league pitching; we knew his hit tool was special, but posting a higher walk rate than K rate in year one is truly prodigious stuff. While the power hasn't arrived just yet, he checks nearly every other box, and has done so for a Tigers team that desperately needed him to be great right away.
Ramirez, though, is coming like a freight train. The top-line numbers don't look like much: .236/.346/B.415 with eight homers. But that's more about bad batted-ball luck than anything, as his .243 BABIP and .370 xwOBA can attest. Plus, he's a much better defender and a more impactful base-runner (20 steals) than McGonigle is right now. Assuming the luck evens out over the next six weeks or so, I think he'll overtake the rookie by All-Star weekend.
NL shortstop: Elly De La Cruz vs. CJ Abrams
With all due respect to Miami's Otto Lopez, this is a battle between Abrams and Elly. The former has been among the best offensive infielders in the entire sport this season, with a 156 wRC+ that leads all qualified hitters at the position. But Abrams is a notoriously poor defender, which is why De La Cruz currently holds the narrow fWAR lead (2.7 vs 2.4).
And really, though he's now on the shelf with a hamstring injury, De La Cruz's all-around game has been too electric to deny. He's exercising enough patience at the plate to let his physical tools shine while ironing out the mental lapses that used to dog him in the field. The result is a truly incredible player, one who might crack 30/30 this year despite missing time on the IL. If he can come back in just two or three weeks time, he should produce enough to keep his grip on a third straight All-Star berth.
NL DH: Kyle Schwarber vs. Shohei Ohtani
Phillies fans fought this battle tooth and nail with the NL MVP race last year, and now here we are again. To be clear, Ohtani remains the more impactful offensive player; sure, Schwarber leads the Majors in home runs, but Ohtani has the better wRC+ and is obviously better on the bases. His athleticism and his threat to steal mean that, if the hitting numbers are close, he should earn the benefit of the doubt.
But the reality is that Ohtani is also going to be an All-Star on the mound, even if he doesn't start the game for the NL. So, if he's making the team anyway, why don't we pencil Schwarber into the starting lineup in his home park?
Add us as a preferred source on Google